Russia’s Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday, framing the move as a way to mark Victory Day celebrations tied to the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The announcement set out a warning that Moscow would strike back if Kyiv tried to disrupt Russia’s Victory Day events.
In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would observe a ceasefire starting at 12 a.m. on Wednesday and would respond in kind to Russia’s actions from that moment on. Zelenskyy did not specify an end date for Ukraine’s truce in his comments.
The statements landed ahead of Russia’s main secular holiday on May 9, as Russia prepares a traditional military parade on Moscow’s Red Square with security concerns driving visible changes. According to officials, Russia’s parade would be pared down, and this year’s version in the Russian capital would take place without tanks, missiles and other military equipment for the first time in nearly two decades, with some smaller parades elsewhere also scaled back or canceled.
Russian preparations have also been accompanied by warnings of potential drone threats. Speaking at a summit with European leaders in Armenia on Monday, Zelenskyy said Russian authorities “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” on May 9, adding that “this is telling” and that sanctions must keep pressure on Russia.
The backdrop for the ceasefire talk includes continuing drone warfare deep inside Russia. Unconfirmed reports in local media said that a defence enterprise, a local college, a shopping centre and residential buildings were damaged, while Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces destroyed 289 Ukrainian drones overnight over 18 Russian regions. The ministry also said drones were intercepted over Crimea, which Russia has annexed, and over the Azov Sea.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also linked the ceasefire conditions to the planned celebrations. It said that if Ukraine attempts to disrupt Saturday’s celebrations, Russia would carry out a “massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv,” and it warned civilians in Kyiv and employees of foreign diplomatic missions of “the need to leave the city promptly.”
Zelenskyy said the truce proposal was not accompanied by official requests for a ceasefire, but he argued that there was still time for a ceasefire to take effect. He urged the Kremlin “to take real steps to end their war,” and he said it was “realistic to ensure” that a ceasefire would begin at the stated time. Zelenskyy also said the move reflected Russia’s view that it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukrainian goodwill.
The announcements also echo a pattern from previous attempts to secure ceasefires, with the latest coming after earlier bids around Orthodox Easter that had “little to no impact.” Putin last year also declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting May 7, 2025, and authorities blocked cellphone internet in Moscow for several days to avert Ukrainian drone attacks, according to the report.
Victory Day has remained a rare point of consensus in Russia’s divisive history under Communist rule, and the Soviet Union’s losses in what it called the Great Patriotic War—where it reported 27 million deaths in 1941-45—have left a deep mark on the national psyche. The report said Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned the holiday into a key pillar of his tenure and has tried to use it to justify the war in Ukraine.
The parade this year is expected to draw fewer overseas attendees than last year’s 80th anniversary celebrations, which brought the most global leaders to Moscow in a decade, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico. The report said Fico would lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and meet Putin but would skip the parade.